The Island of Sodor: The New Stories.

The Wellsworth & Suddery Railway (1871-1912)

The Wellsworth & Suddery Railway opened in the 1870s and started as a short line that ran from Wellsworth to the wharf at Suddery. It was originally a goods line but started to take passengers. When the wharf became unable to handle large shipping traffic, the line was extended to Brendam. This line was run by four tank engines. Unlike the S&MR, the controller of this line saw fit to name his engines. Their names were Lucinda, Charles, William and Stanley. They all had nicknames however, which were Lucy, Charlie, Billy and Stan. Billy was a stubborn engine that never liked to do what he was told. Charlie was good natured but did like to have a laugh every now and then. Stan was a strong engine but wasn't the most attentive engine. He tended to amble along the line when he had nothing to do. Lucy was like a mother figure to the other three. All of them alternated with the trains whether it was goods or passengers. In 1912, the W&SR merged with the nearby Tidmouth, Knapford and Elsbridge Light Railway. They became the Tidmouth, Wellsworth and Suddery Railway. Then one day in 1913, Billy had a terrible accident at Brendam. It was his own fault really. He had viciously bumped his trucks, ran away with his goods train and went flying off a pier. Since he was so far out, they had to leave him there. When the cold sea water came into contact with Billy's boiler, it exploded. When they eventually did fish him out, there wasn't much left to retrieve. His remains were taken to Crock's Scrapyard which had just opened. The other engines were never really the same after Billy died. To fill the gap Billy left, the board of directors bought another engine named Fiona. She was one of the LBSCR's A1s, but she was bought third hand from a workshop. A year later the engines and their railway became part of the NWR. The engines were separated and sent to shunt around the island. Lucy was sent to Arlesburgh to run trains there. Stan was sent to work near Great Waterton. Charlie became the station pilot at Tidmouth. Fiona did odd jobs around Vicarstown. Eventually they were replaced by other engines. Lucy and Charlie were scrapped, while Stan was abandoned at Great Waterton and Fiona mysteriously disappeared. The W&SR, which became the Brendam branch, didn't see much regular traffic until 1948. A china clay works opened up on the peninsula. This was enough traffic to revitalize the line. Edward was sent to work the line the same year. Now the Brendam branch is one of the busiest lines on the island.